The Coast Between Us

In the flickering light of the bonfire, Leonardo and Jessica sat close together.

Jessica wore a cropped cheer sweater and leggings, her athletic frame on full display.

The two were a world away from the rest of the laughing crowd.

Even their whispers seemed charged with secret meaning.

The romantic energy was palpable, even through the tiny screen.

My heart seized in my chest.

Leonardo had declared his intentions that afternoon. It looked like he'd already won his prize.

Someone dared Jessica to get a piggyback ride from a guy of her choice for a full minute.

As expected, Leonardo immediately stood up.

The crowd roared with whoops and hollers.

Jessica’s cheeks flushed as she dutifully climbed onto his back.

Leonardo braced himself, easily holding her for the full minute.

He was a perfect gentleman the whole time, his hands carefully placed.

Until the very end, when their friends started chanting a familiar song.

He faltered, letting Jessica slide down his front until they were face-to-face.

The noise from the crowd was deafening.

Leonardo and Jessica's faces were bright red.

Amid the wild cheering, Leonardo leaned down and sang the last line of what was once our song, right to her.

Then he kissed her.

They were lost in each other, oblivious to the world.

It lasted for an eternity before they finally broke apart.

During those long seconds, I watched without blinking, so shocked I almost forgot how to breathe.

My heart felt like it was being torn to shreds.

I wanted to cry, but I had cried myself empty earlier and was too dehydrated to produce another tear.

"Damn, Kira, you see that? That wasn't just a kiss. He's completely gone for her."

Sophie’s voice came through on a follow-up voice note.

She must have found a quieter spot to record it. "Kira, don't hate me for this. If I didn't show you, you'd never let him go."

My throat was dry, my voice a scratch.

"Yeah. I don't blame you."

I only blame myself for being a fool for so many years.

I thought because he always let me be by his side, that place belonged to me forever.

"I just can't stand Leo. How could he string you along for years, knowing how you felt, playing innocent while you fell harder and harder.

"Now you see the truth. I really hope you’ll change your mind. Don't let him ruin your four years of college too..."

"I won't, Sophie."

I cut her off, my voice steady.

"I'm not giving him another chance.

"Sophie, I'm decided. I'm going to UCLA with you.

"But you have to promise me, keep it a secret for now."

After I said it, to make sure I couldn't back out, I opened my laptop right then.

Without a second of hesitation, just before the deadline closed, I changed my first-choice school to the one in Los Angeles.

Sophie was, of course, overjoyed.

She had been trying to get me to apply there for months.

But when we started high school, Leonardo and I made a pact to work hard and go to his dream school in Seattle.

That's where the best aerospace engineering program was.

So even though I hated the cold and had no interest in an engineering school, I made it my goal for three years.

After being neighbors for a decade, both our parents were happy for us to go to college together.

Everyone, myself included, thought Leonardo and I would be a couple the moment we were adults.

But now, I had no reason to go to Seattle anymore.

Or rather, after today, if I still clung to Leonardo like before, I would hate myself for it.

Now I just wanted to run far away. It didn't matter where, as long as he wasn't there.

If he was going north, I would go south.

Before bed, I filled the tub, wanting to wash the entire night away.

But when I took off my clothes, the marks on my skin were still there.

Memories of the night before came flooding back without my permission.

The heat of his skin pressed against mine, his hot breath in my ear, the warmth that seemed to linger around me still.

I shook my head violently, trying to banish the thoughts.

I found the roughest washcloth I owned and scrubbed my skin over and over, not stopping until I was raw and red.

A clumsy attempt to erase the most humiliating memory of my life.

As a result, I was so sore I couldn't sleep properly all night.

Leonardo, true to form, sent no more texts.

It broke a seven-year streak, from the day we got our first phones, of never failing to say goodnight.

This was for the best.

It had to end sometime.

Might as well start the detox tonight.

I drifted in and out of a restless sleep.

The next morning, while I was still out, I felt a soft kiss on my forehead in my dream.

I jolted awake.

But when I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar jawline.

The scent was Leonardo's signature cedarwood, mixed with a faint, unfamiliar trace of citrus.